Chinese leader expected to be at political session

Posted:
Thursday, February 23, 2012 11:45 PM EST

BEIJING (AP) -- A top Chinese government adviser says he expects the leader of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing to attend next month's annual legislative session despite a scandal surrounding a key subordinate.

Zhao Qizheng told reporters Friday that he saw no reason why Bo Xilai shouldn't attend the annual session of the National People's Congress as a delegate.

Bo's political future was thrown into doubt earlier this month after his longtime confidant, city police chief Wang Lijun, entered the American consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu in an apparent bid for political asylum.

Bo had been considered a contender for a seat on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, but the taint of Wang's scandal is thought to now make that unlikely.